Poirier said Ward was also aggressive, storming onto the track and pointing at Stewart as the veteran driver drove up to him.

"It's as if Stewart had wanted to say to him, 'Hey, young man, you don't do that to Tony Stewart here.' "

The Canadian racer said hitting the accelerator is the last thing a driver should do when people are on the track.

"We are constantly told not to give gas when there are people on the track before the races, for example," said Poirier, a five-year veteran of the dirt circuit. "It's the same thing under a yellow flag. We just need to let the car (cruise)."

He compared the Empire Super Sprints cars to "a stick of dynamite on four wheels."

Some have suggested Stewart misjudged the distance between himself and Ward, but Poirier, who has 20 wins on the dirt circuit, isn't buying it.

"Stewart is a professional driver and he's won big races," said Poirier. "That means he's very talented. He was the highest-calibre driver on the track. You could blame a rookie for making a mistake like that. But Stewart understands these machines, he's a good driver."

Ward and Poirier were friends but the Canadian said the dead driver made a mistake.

"When I saw him point his finger at cars, my first instinct was to say, 'What's he doing there? ' " said Poirier. "I saw that he was angry and he put himself in a dangerous position. I knew he had made a mistake. The collision he had with Stewart wasn't worth such a big reaction. The situation didn't warrant him risking his life."